Old memories

Discussion of other water gun websites.
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Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2003 1:00 pm

Post by Veteran » Mon Sep 20, 2004 11:08 pm

I was running through the old aquatica's archives, found this and it was rather interesting. We used to think the secret strike was bad and look at what we have now!





AQUATICA NEWSLETTER, VOLUME 4, Issue 1


Table of Contents

I. Introduction
II. Tactic of the Letter
III. The Articles

A. Water Balloon Launcher V 3.2
B. Super Soakers: OBSOLETE?!
C. The Soakers of 2003
D. H2H Hurts!

IV. Ask the Editors
V. Site of the Letter
VI. Closing Comments
VII. Submitting/Other

I. A New Year, with New Soakers
Every year we wait expectantly for the new Super Soakers to be announced and released. At one point, SuperSoaker.com even released their new webpage at midnight on New Year's Eve/Day. However the Super Soaker website is now out of the hands of it's previous creators, and Larami has now been erased entirely from Hasbro, who has taken full control of the fate of water warfare. We must not give up hope though, for new Super Soakers have been spotted, with more surely on the way. Read on to find out more...
-Black Six

II. Tactic of the Letter- Sniping Tips
Sniping requires patience and a long range soaker. Try using a CPS 2000 or a modified gun. A CPS 1000 or 1200 are good sniping soakers. Try mounting a scope or sight on your soakers for better accuracy. Always snipe from a good location, like a behind a bush or behind a car or wall. A sniper must move fast and have a quick get away if need be.
-Dirtjump9
(Special thanks to Dirtjump9 for giving me the tactics at the last minute.)

III. The Articles

A. Water Balloon Launcher V 3.2

by Commander Mist

When my friend I decided that I wanted to build a water balloon launcher I did not think I would actually do it...but I did!

That weekend we had my dad took me to Home Depot to get the supplies. A guy that worked there named Ron helped us out and has started to build his own launcher. When we told him that we were building a water balloon launcher he looked at us like we were from Mars. Since Home Depot has such great service he helped us out.

When we got to the register with all of our PVC pipe the lady at the register looked at us like "this might take a while". The PVC all added up to $48.73. But there was more to pay for at a later date. I started building this launcher by my self but I could not get far without a 1" anti-siphon solenoid sprinkler valve. We looked everywhere but could not find one. So I asked Aquatech and he sent me to Spudtech.com, where I bought a valve. When I got the valve in the mail it was the inline type but we got it to work anyways.

It took us about 3 hours to build the WBL but it was worth it, but I did end up paying $140 for the thing, because the sprinkler valve was $32.00 plus shipping and handling. Not only that I had to pay for some expensive junk like a tire valve with a nut on the end: $14.00, a PVC cutter which was $15.00, and drill bits for $30.00; so it adds up.

When we finally finished our launcher we took it in front of my house for a range test. After we pumped it and loaded it I took it out and shot it. It was loud! The balloon that I shot went at least 210 feet at 60 PSI! After I shot it 3 times all of my neighbors were outside in amazement. And the [at]$$ hole kid down the street kept on watching like he wanted one so bad.

We shot it 6 more times each time being more accurate and going farther. I shot the gun at an almost a 90 degree angle and it went at least 45 feet up and had a range of 100 yards. I recommend you build this launcher if you just want to something to shoot cans with because this gun is not that good for battle. Only because its 4 feet long, its loud, and it takes to long to reload.



B. Super Soakers: OBSOLETE?!

by Commander Jack Duncan

As many of you know, Super Soakers have undergone a large decline in quality since the CPS-2000 controversy, and it became even worse once the Hasbro Company, a company which I loathe, bought out Larami, Ltd.

Now, instead of being a fun device that everyone can enjoy, they are quickly becoming a mere kiddie toy, with lame outer-space designs, and ever-decreasing quality. What I'm worried about is: Will new Soakers become so low-quality and flashy, that they will be useless in a battle?

Well, at this rate, that may just be so in a few years. You may say, "Hey, don't worry, we still have the good old guns, right?" WRONG! The sad fact is, that with each passing day, our old soakers come a step closer to death. I take the absolute BEST possible care of ALL of my soakers, Polishing, cleaning, modifying, plastic welding, etc. But still, My early XPs and Classics are REALLY beginning to show age.

So, with new guns being XPBackfire-esquepy, and old ones biting the dust, will there even BE a worthwhile soaker 10 years from now? Will the young of our generation, and the next generation even KNOW the experience of Water Warfare? I fear not.

In conclusion, as much as I hate to admit it, on the current path, Water Warfare may eventually fade away. Unless Super Soakers shape up and return to their previous glory, this exciting pastime may slowly die.

Thank you for reading this, and may Water Warfare live FOREVER!



C. The Soakers of 2003

by Black Six

Every year a few privileged members are lucky enough to find the Super Soakers for the coming year a week or two early and post information and/or pictures on the internet. This year, BarcaH, from WaterWar.net has found one of these soakers, which may give us a little hope after Larami has been completely absorbed by Hasbro. While at his local Wal-Mart he spotted a new Super Soaker in the Nerf section, which he describes as a "new Max-D called the Secret Strike which has a button to unleash the entire contents of the pressure chamber." He went on to say that he saw no other new soakers, CPS, Max-D, or otherwise. This doesn't mean that there won't be any other new Super Soakers, just that we need to keep on looking.

BarcaH's full post can be found here at WaterWar.net's Message Forums. I'd like to thank iSoaker for his permission in letting me link to his site.



D. H2H Hurts!

by Steven "Excelite" Kovalenko

H2H (hand to hand combat) ­ acronym used to describe combat with close range melee weapons

I found myself surfing the Nerf Online Forums (before they were axed) one afternoon this past summer and I discovered that Nerfers took combat to the next level, or... maybe to a lower level, depending on how you see it. They create massive swords, axes, javelins, maces, morning stars and whack each other on their noggins when they run out of ammo. I was intrigued with the concept, being the teenage male that I am. Thoughts of epic sword duels and battles flooded my mind, but were quickly dispelled once I remembered I lived in Edmonton (far from the center of soaker activity). I was still determined to make one of these H2H weapons. I was interested how one could achieve this with simple foam and PVC. A few of my questions were answered once I made a sword that was posted on the now defunct Nerf site, Foam Corner, and a bayonet for my CPS 2500. I found out here that H2H is very cheap and cost effective! $15 Cdn. was enough for materials for 2 swords and a bayonet!

I had to test my sword to determine if H2H really hurts as much as its opponents say it does. Since there are no other warriors in Edmonton I know of, I hit myself with the sword. Believe me, it is quite difficult to render accurate results when one is the tester and test subject, but I came to the conclusion that H2H does hurt. Well, more accurately put it stings. It stings like getting hit by a 20x blast from close range. What do you expect from foam and PVC? H2H does hurt. And once one is over that fact, one can begin to safely bring H2H combat into the soaker world of their backyards and local groups of friends. Just don't swing too hard! We are not out to kill people here!

More in next issue on H2H!

Email Excelite about this Article!: kovy_316[at]hotmail.com
Please insert: "Aquatica Newsletter Article - H2H" in the subject line.

IV. Ask the Editors

Second issue, nothing has been asked, we feel so unloved...
Please, any questions, comments, flames, anything, send them to any/all of these addresses:
Andrew[at]tkab.org
Mafo0[at]yahoo.com
Thaboyw0nder[at]aol.com
Thanks!

V. Site of the Letter

H20 Commandos
"Saturate that Sponge!"
-Commander Bob

VI. Closing Comments

We thank you for reading this edition of the Aquatica Newsletter, and encourage you to continue reading future issues as well as submit articles of your own. As of the time of this writing, only one new Super Soaker has been spotted, but more should be coming soon. All there is to say is to keep an eye out for them and wait for the off-season to end(unless you live in the Southern Hemisphere,,,). Have a happy and healthy New Year
and happy Soaker searching.
-The Newsletter Co-Editors

VII. Submitting/Other

If you have an article you would like to submit to the Aquatica Newsletter, please send it to:

Andrew[at]tkab.org
Mafo0[at]yahoo.com
Thaboyw0nder[at]aol.com

Yes, send it to all three addresses, and be sure to include the title and name you wish to appear under it.

Thanks for your time,

-The Newsletter Co-Editors

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